Parks, gardens and green space

Elizabeth Park

Elizabeth Park, located in
East Dubbo off Windsor Parade, is a 10 hectare site in which Council is
progressively developing the Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden. The botanic
garden development commenced in 1999 and today comprises of four major gardens
(Shoyoen (Japanese Garden)), the Sensory Garden, the Biodiversity Garden and
the Oasis Valley, plus a number of recently planted avenues.

Shoyoen is widely recognised
as being one of the best examples of a “strolling, relaxing” Japanese garden in
Australia and gardeners from Japan visit every year to help maintain the
autheniticity of the garden and train Council staff in Japanese gardening
techniques. The Biodiversity Garden provides visitors the opportunity to
experience the Australian bush. This garden is planted with plants native
to the Dubbo area and the plant name signage also provides the local
(Wiradjuri) Aboriginal name and cultural uses of the plant. The Oasis
Valley provides visitors the opportunity to see the developing “dry rainforest”
whilst walking over a creekline via a board walk. The Sensory Garden
gives visitors the opportunity to experience plants through the five senses,
being sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

The development of Elizabeth
Park and the Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden is guided through the Elizabeth Park
Master Plan 2011.

Regand Park

Regand Park is located
on the eastern side of the Macquarie River and is accessible via a new walkway
(between dawn and dusk only) from lower Macquarie Street (near the John Gilbert
Water Plant) and lower Tamworth Street, and forms an integral link to the river
corridor path and cycle way system. The new 2.5km riverside walk under
the boughs of centuries old River Red Gums and provides beautiful vistas back
along the Macquarie River. As you enjoy this walk are likely to see many
local species of birds and animals that make this river corridor home.

The Regand Park Master Plan will see the ultimate
development of this 62 hectare site into a regional facility that will provide
a range of recreational facilities and opportunities and improve the riverine
corridor through extensive plantings of endemic riverine species.

Victoria Park

Victoria Park,
located on Darling and Talbragar streets, has been at the heart of
Dubbo's recreational pursuits from our earliest beginnings. The village
of Dubbo was surveyed back in 1848 and the plan gazetted in November 1849 with
71 acres originally set aside. Over time parcels of land around the
edge of the original park have been resumed by the Crown for civil
infrastructure or education purposes, however, the heart of the park has
remained. It was not until 1878 that Dubbo Council became
trusteeship of the public open space and commenced formal management of the
site. On the 10 December 1890 Victoria Park was formally dedicated for
"public recreation". The area today comprises of 3 regional
sporting ovals and the "The Park" itself.

The park today is a
cool and shady place ideal for family picnics and social gatherings. It
has a regional quality playground (Livvi’s playground) that has disabled
accesible, BBQs, toilets, skate park, garden displays etc. To help ensure
that the park remains true to its original intent the Victoria Park
Rehabilitation Master Plan was developed, and adopted in 2013. This
plan will guide the future development and maintenance of the park and ensure
that it will continue to deliver high quality recreational facilities and
opportunities to the residents and visitors of Dubbo for generations to come.

Wiradjuri Park

Wiradjuri
Park is located on the western side of the Macquarie River, immediately
north of the Seriser Bridge. The park is approximately 3.3 ha in area and
is highly visible both from the Newell Highway and Thompson Street (connecting
the Newell Highway with the Mitchell Highway).

In response to the community a Master Plan was prepared and
publicly exhibited to develop Wiradjuri Park into an Aboriginal cultural
park. The development of this park will provide the local and
broader Aboriginal community a place to gather, celebrate their culture,
acknowledge significant dates on their calendar and remember loved ones who
may have been lost from their community. For the broader community it
will provide a space in which they gain a greater understanding and insight
into Aboriginal Australia (from pre – European through “first contact” and
through to the present day).